Our Team
Kevin P. Varney
Kevin Varney is the Managing Director of Lafayette Capital Advisors. Before joining Lafayette Advisors he spent ten years with the Boeing Company serving in numerous leadership roles including Senior Director for International Operations, Chief of Staff for Boeing Government Operations, and as the Executive Director for Boeing Global Engagement As a senior lobbyist for Boeing, Kevin represented Boeings public policy and legislative priorities with the Executive and Legislative branches on behalf of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Boeing Defense Systems and Boeing Global Services.
Prior to Boeing, Kevin served as Senior Vice President & Chief of Staff at the U.S. Export-Import Bank, as the principal economic, political and communications advisor to the Chairman and President of the Bank. Varney also served as a delegate to the US - China Strategic & Economic Dialogue from 2009- 2012. Kevin Varney entered government service as special assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury and also served as a senior staff member of the White House National Economic Council under President Clinton. In addition to his public policy experience, Varney has also served as an independent consultant and representative for Fortune 100 companies and organizations including TotalEnergies, the Boeing Company, Google, Daimler-Benz, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Aspen Institute. For over 20 years Varney has advised international businesses, foreign governments and NGO's on a wide array of international financial, political and trade matters.
Kevin earned his MBA with a concentration in finance from Johns Hopkins University, attended the London School of Economics, and is a graduate of the University of Utah. He and his wife Betsy Hildebrandt reside in Washington, DC.
Prior to Boeing, Kevin served as Senior Vice President & Chief of Staff at the U.S. Export-Import Bank, as the principal economic, political and communications advisor to the Chairman and President of the Bank. Varney also served as a delegate to the US - China Strategic & Economic Dialogue from 2009- 2012. Kevin Varney entered government service as special assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury and also served as a senior staff member of the White House National Economic Council under President Clinton. In addition to his public policy experience, Varney has also served as an independent consultant and representative for Fortune 100 companies and organizations including TotalEnergies, the Boeing Company, Google, Daimler-Benz, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Aspen Institute. For over 20 years Varney has advised international businesses, foreign governments and NGO's on a wide array of international financial, political and trade matters.
Kevin earned his MBA with a concentration in finance from Johns Hopkins University, attended the London School of Economics, and is a graduate of the University of Utah. He and his wife Betsy Hildebrandt reside in Washington, DC.
David M. Sena
David Sena has joined Lafayette Capital Advisors as a senior partner after serving as a senior United States government financial services executive with a 30-year track record of success. As the Chief Financial Officer for the Export-Import Bank Mr. Sena worked at the highest levels of the United States government and led senior management teams that managed over $50 billion in structured and project finance transactions.
As the Chief Financial Officer for the Export-Import Bank Mr. Sena provided expertise and guidance to the chairman, board of directors, and to the senior management team. He oversaw all asset monitoring, restructuring, and recovery efforts for the bank’s $100+ billion portfolio and managed all bank revenue and expenses. Mr. Sena led efforts for the Export-Import Bank to become a self-financing and profitable agency of the U.S. government and is an expert in pricing and reserve requirements in the U.S government.
Mr. Sena also led the Export-Import Bank’s Office of Board Authorized Finance as the senior vice president, creating this new office that combined the agency’s underwriting team with the technical team and the loan monitoring team. He led the major reorganization effort to build a deal team bank for all medium-term and long-term transactions from the point of underwriting a deal to due diligence and approval and through post-approval monitoring and management.
Mr. Sena created a new review system to oversee credits throughout the due diligence process, actively managed the $40 billion pipeline of potential new transactions, and oversaw significant increases in new approvals during this time, including the largest transaction in EXIM history, valued at nearly $5 billion. During this time, he established the first risk-sharing program with the private sector among credit agencies in the U.S. government.
Sena received his MBA at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and his dual degree BA from the Pennsylvania State University.
Nicole Ruff
Nicole Ruff has joined Lafayette Capital Advisors after a 25-year Federal career as a proven operational leader and executive advisor, with core competencies in enterprise operations, cross-functional leadership, human capital management, budget and procurement oversight, enterprise risk management, and reporting.
Before joining Lafayette, Nicole served as the Deputy Director of the Management Operations Division of the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO), directly supervising LPO’s human resource, procurement, financial operations, and enterprise risk management functions during an unprecedented period of growth for LPO.
Prior to her time at LPO, Nicole served in multiple managerial and operational roles at the U.S. Export-Import Bank, including Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chief Human Capital Officer (acting), Senior Advisor to the Senior Vice President of the Office of Board Authorized Finance, Chief of Staff to the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of the Export Finance Group, and Vice President of the Operations and Data Quality Division.
In these roles, Nicole acted as a trusted advisor and thought partner to agency executives, authored audit responses as well as underwriting and operational guidance documents, prepared transaction summaries for agency leadership, provided agency executives with necessary data and analysis for informed decision making, and managed the daily operations of executive offices.
Nicole earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University and a Master of Business Administration degree from The George Washington University.
Decades of Financial Expertise
Lafayette Capital Advisors brings decades of experience in structuring capital solutions for industrial and energy sector projects. Our team understands the financial challenges of large-scale investments and provides strategic guidance to ensure trusted financial consultants and sustainable growth.
Navigating Complex Funding
Our expertise spans project financing, risk management, and capital allocation. We take pride in offering strategic financial consultants who help clients navigate complex funding landscapes. Get in touch to learn how we can support your financial goals.